Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Park Homes: Licensing

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing a person who has a power of attorney on behalf of a park home resident to appeal against a site licence condition which has been imposed by a local council.

Jacob Young: It remains appropriate that site owners, not residents or their representatives, have the right to appeal against conditions imposed on them by local authorities. Site licences and any conditions attached to them, are issued to site owners by local authorities, to ensure sites and amenities on them are adequately maintained.

Charities: UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the costs to charities of applying for funding from the people and skills element of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Jacob Young: We have given responsibility for delivering the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to local government. Local leaders know best what their local communities need and we have provided a flexible fund that empowers local authorities to deliver that. It is for local authorities to determine the application process for accessing UKSPF.

Housing: Stairs

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his written statement of 24 October 2023 on Building Safety Update, HCWS1090, when he plans to publish guidance on second staircase design; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to bring forward this guidance on levels of new housing supply.

Lee Rowley: I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 909 on 13 November 2023. The Government recognises that further detail is needed on staircase design to allow the construction and property development sector to understand how policy changes might affect project viability, further information will be made available by the end of the year.

Local Government Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for the 2024-25 financial year.

Simon Hoare: As with previous years, the government will bring forward its proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25 in the usual way towards the end of the calendar year.

United Kingdom

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of devolution arrangements on the strength of the Union.

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of devolution arrangements on the strength of the Union.

Felicity Buchan: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Catering

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to support the provision of nutritionally balanced plant-based meals on menus for staff in public sector bodies under his Department's responsibility.

Simon Hoare: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 1515 on 20 November 2023.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentres: Staff

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches were in post at the end of October (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Jo Churchill: The table below shows the total number of Work Coach Full Time Equivalents (FTE) in Jobcentres (JC) at the end of October for 2021, 2022 and 2023.  Work CoachABM FTEOct-21Oct-22Oct-23JC Work Coach excl DEA - Full Service17,36012,58012,850JC Work Coach excl DEA - Existing Benefits2,3201,8701,300Total19,68014,44014,150 Source: DWP’s internal Activity Based Model (ABM) Notes:Data is correct as of the end of October 2021, October 2022 and October 2023. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Sum may not total due to rounding.Data includes all Work Coach related activities as well as training and accreditation.Data for Work Coaches does not include Work Coach Team Leaders and Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs).DEAs support Work Coaches and Jobcentre colleagues in situations where claimants present with complex employment circumstances involving health and disability issues. Support to Work Coaches include upskilling, case conferencing and facilitating three-way conversations with claimants.Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment. No overtime FTE is included.The number of Work Coaches is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.

Restart Scheme

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the next experimental statistics for the Restart Scheme.

Jo Churchill: The department plans to publish the next experimental statistics for the Restart Scheme in December 2023.

Universal Credit: Deductions

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims were subject to deductions; how much on average was deducted; what the total sum of deductions was; what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments in each local authority in the 2021-22 financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with deductions, in the 2021-22 financial year, by Local Authority in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet, with the following points to note: 1. Average deduction amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1 and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. The sum of individual constituencies may not sum to the total figure due to rounding.2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.3. The' unknown' parliamentary constituency label relates to claims for which a constituency could not be determined due to incomplete postcode information. Unknown parliamentary constituency accounts for 0.2% of all UC households.4. In April 2021, the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 30% of the standard allowance to 25%. In May 2021, the additional court fines deduction was removed lowering the rate to 5% of standard allowance.5. "Advances" include all four UC advance types: New Claim, Benefit Transfer, Budgeting and Change of Circumstances.6. The table includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period 2021-2022. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once. Deduction amount represents the total deduction taken for a particular household. So if a household has multiple deductions in the same assessment period these figures provide the total of all deductions taken.7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.__________________________________________________________________________PQ2055 Attachment (xlsx, 812.3KB)

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefits claims were found to be fraudulent in each of the last two years.

Tom Pursglove: Estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system, including for the last two financial years, have been published and can be found at:Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The rate of fraud overpayments fell from 3.0% of benefit expenditure in 2021/2022 to 2.7% in 2022/23. To be clear, the percentage of fraud cases represents the average cases incorrect due to fraud at one time, rather than the total number over a whole year. We express this as a percentage, rather than as a whole number.

Revenue and Customs: Standards

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) average length of time taken between notification being received from HMRC of a change to a person's National Insurance record and that change being reflected in a revised state pension (i) forecast and (ii) award and (b) how many such notifications are outstanding.

Paul Maynard: This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained. The vast majority of voluntary contributions paid result in records being updated within days, though more complex cases requiring specialist caseworkers can take longer to resolve. The Government has extended the deadline to 5 April 2025 to give taxpayers more time to fill gaps in their National Insurance record and help increase the amount they receive in State Pension.

Infected Blood Inquiry: Social Security Benefits

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of amending the benefits assessment process for victims of the contaminated blood scandal.

Tom Pursglove: The Infected Blood Inquiry is ongoing, and it is only reasonable that the inquiry concludes and provides its final recommendations before the Government responds. The Government is undertaking the necessary work to enable a swift response to the full report, when it is published.Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is an income-replacement benefit for individuals who have a health condition or disability that limits their capability to work.People whose ability to work or to live independently which has been affected as a consequence of receiving infected blood can claim, and in many cases are already claiming, these benefits. The department has talked to people affected and improved its processes to ensure these claims are dealt with quickly and accurately.Eligibility for these benefits is not based on the diagnosis of a health condition or disability. Instead, both the Work Capability Assessment, which determines entitlement to ESA and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit, and the PIP assessment, assess the impact of a person’s health condition or disability on doing everyday tasks to determine eligibility for the benefit. In practice, these assessments will often be a paper-based process where people are seriously ill.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospital Beds

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS England publication of 20 January 2023 entitled Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, what his planned timetable is for delivering 5,000 additional permanent beds; and what steps the Government is taking to progress delivery of those additional beds.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Intensive Care: Hospital Beds

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of hospital beds for acute treatment.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office: Op NOVA

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent employees in her Department work on the delivery of Op Nova.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cabinet Office: Op RESTORE

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent employees in her Department work on the delivery of Op Restore.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Expenditure

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 30 March 2023 to Question 159027 on NHS: Expenditure, how much NHS England, clinical commissioning groups and integrated care boards spent in aggregate on (a) mental health services, (b) acute health services, (c) social care services, (d) primary medical care, (e) other primary care services, (f) continuing healthcare, (g) specialised services, and (h) other main categories of spending in each financial year since 2015-16; and how much NHS England and integrated care boards plan to spend in aggregate in each of those areas in 2023-24.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) total, (b) substantive, (c) bank and (d) agency workforce was at each NHS (i) integrated care system, (ii) trust and (iii) foundation trust in (A) April and (B) September 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by how much and what proportion the (a) total, (b) substantive, (c) bank and (d) agency workforce will change at each NHS (i) integrated care system, (ii) trust and (iii) foundation trust in the 2023-24 financial year.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) expenditure limit and (b) actual spend was for agency staffing spend for each NHS (i) integrated care system, (ii) trust and (iii) foundation in the 2022-23 financial year; and what the expenditure limit will be for each organisation in the 2023-24 financial year.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health Services: Veterans

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides accelerated NHS (a) primary and (b) secondary care services to armed forces veterans whose medical conditions arise from their military service.

Maria Caulfield: All services within the National Health Service across the United Kingdom are available to members of the Armed Forces, veterans and their families. In England, NHS England commissions additional services for veterans with service-related injuries. Veterans can and are encouraged to use these services whenever they need support.Op RESTORE, formerly known as the Veterans’ Trauma Network, delivers comprehensive medical care to veterans with physical service-related health problems. Veterans are supported by Defence Medical Welfare Service, and other key charities form part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team and support process which helps veterans to “wait well” whilst waiting for treatment.For medical conditions arising as a direct result of time spent serving in the Armed Forces, general practitioners can refer directly into the OP RESTORE service.

Paxlovid

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions her Department has had with NHS England on the distribution of Paxlovid for the treatment of covid-19.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department procured stock of Paxlovid during the pandemic and has set up a distribution network to both primary and secondary care in England so that all eligible patients can access the treatment in line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The Department is in regular contact with NHS England about demand for and distribution of the centrally procured stocks, including for the potential expanded use of Paxlovid following the publication of NICE’s final draft guidance on Paxlovid published in August 2023.

Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount patients can claim under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.

Andrew Stephenson: The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) provides financial assistance to eligible patients, namely those in receipt of a qualifying benefit or through the NHS Low Income Scheme, who require assistance with travel costs incurred in travelling to receive certain services within the National Health Service. The scheme is not for patients who have a medical need for transport and their journey must meet certain criteria, for example, it must not be for primary medical or primary dental care services. Eligible patients are reimbursed in part or in full, depending upon their entitlement. The National Health Service (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003, as amended, that provide for the HTCS state that NHS travel expenses to be reimbursed must be calculated by reference to the cost of the cheapest means of transport that is reasonable, having regard to the patient’s relevant circumstances, for example, age, medical condition and any other relevant factor.Further information can be found at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/

Lung Diseases: Waiting Lists

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of people with pulmonary fibrosis.

Andrew Stephenson: Cutting National Health Service waiting lists, including for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, is one of this Government’s top priorities.£2.3 billion was awarded at SR21 to transform diagnostic services over the next three years to increase diagnostic capacity, including for endoscopy services. This funding will also increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs). There are 130 CDCs currently operational (as of November 2023) and the CDC programme has delivered over five million tests since reporting in July 2021. The Government has also confirmed it is now on track to meet its target to open up to 160 CDCs by March 2025, and expects to achieve this a year early in March 2024.Thanks to the incredible work of NHS staff, official NHS England statistics show that in September 2023 the total number of patients waiting more than 78 weeks was 10,196, a reduction of just under 92% from the peak of September 2021.

Viral Diseases: Drugs

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the capacity of NHS England to treat patients identified by NICE as being eligible for the (a) nirmatrelvir and (b) ritonavir antiviral treatments.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that covid-19 antivirals are available to all clinically vulnerable patients.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop recommendations for the National Health Service on whether licensed antivirals for COVID-19 should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE published guidance in March 2023 that recommends the antiviral Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir+ritonavir) for those at highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and the NHS is now legally required to fund treatment in line with NICE’s recommendations. The Department procured stock of Paxlovid during the pandemic and has set up a distribution network to both primary and secondary care, in England, as devolved administrations have their own arrangements, so that all eligible patients can access the treatment.NICE is in the process of developing recommendations for the NHS on the use of the antivirals molnupiravir and remdesivir, and is also developing guidance for the NHS on the potential expanded use of Paxlovid. NICE published final draft guidance that recommends expanded use of Paxlovid in August 2023. Following discussions between the Department, NHS England and NICE, NICE has recently consulted on an NHS England proposal to vary the funding requirement that normally applies three months after the publication of NICE guidance to allow a phased rollout to all eligible patients, considering the capacity of the NHS to implement NICE’s recommendations in full. NICE will carefully consider the comments received in response to the consultation in making its final recommendations. Molnupiravir is available to NHS patients in line with the United Kingdom’s interim clinical commissioning policy pending the publication of final NICE guidance.

Liraglutide

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on the supply of Liraglutide to the NHS.

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help secure the supply of Liraglutide for the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: We are aware of global supply issues with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (RAs), which are licensed for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. This includes liraglutide. We have issued guidance in the form of a Medicine Supply Notification, addressing all GLP-1 RAs advising healthcare professionals on how to manage patients requiring these medicines. Further guidance has been issued through a National Patient Safety Alert which provides further background and clinical information and actions for providers.Our guidance is clear that GLP-1 RA medicines that are solely licensed to treattype 2 diabetes should only be used for that purpose and should not be routinely prescribed for weight loss.The General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland have also issued a joint statement stressing the importance of health and care professionals meeting regulatory standards in relation to these medicines. We have also added some of these products to the list of medicines that cannot be exported from, or hoarded in, the United Kingdom.We are continuing to work closely with manufacturers and others working in the supply chain to help ensure the continued supply of these medicines for UK patients, for example by asking suppliers to expedite deliveries.

Viral Diseases: Medical Treatments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the availability to patients of NICE-approved anti-viral treatments.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions her Department has had with NHS England on implementing NICE's final draft guidance on patient access to Paxlovid.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been developing recommendations for the National Health Service on whether licensed antivirals for COVID-19 should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE published guidance in March 2023 that recommends the antiviral Paxlovid for those at highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and the NHS is now legally required to fund treatment in line with NICE’s recommendations. The Department procured stock of Paxlovid during the pandemic and has set up a distribution network to both primary and secondary care in England, as the devolved administrations have their own arrangements, so that all eligible patients can access the treatment.NICE is developing recommendations for the NHS on the use of the antivirals molnupiravir and remdesivir, and is also developing guidance for the NHS on the potential expanded use of Paxlovid. NICE published final draft guidance that recommends expanded use of Paxlovid in August 2023. Following discussions between the Department, NHS England and NICE, NICE has recently consulted on an NHS England proposal to vary the funding requirement that normally applies three months after the publication of NICE guidance to allow a phased rollout to all eligible patients. NICE will carefully consider the comments received in response to the consultation in making its final recommendations.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to (a) produce and (b) publish a strategy to reduce the cost of dentistry.

Andrea Leadsom: The National Health Service in England invests £3 billion on dentistry every year. We want to protect dental resources for dental care, ensuring that the full dental budget made available each year is spent on delivering dental care, and prioritise access for patients. We are working on our Dentistry Recovery Plan which will address how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.We have also frozen dental patient charges between December 2020 and April 2023 and we continue to provide financial support to those who need it most by offering exemptions from charges. Support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients who are not eligible for exemption or full remission.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the reasons for disparities in the number of cases of (a) Crohn's disease and (b) ulcerative colitis by (i) region and (ii) socioeconomic status.

Andrew Stephenson: An assessment in these specific terms has not been made by DHSC. Such information may be available at Integrated Care Board level.A healthy population reduces pressure on the National Health Service and wider public services and supports a strong economy through increased productivity and labour market participation.The Government’s ambition is to improve healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035 and reduce the gap between areas where it is highest and lowest by 2030, as per the commitment in the Levelling Up White Paper.The gap in the number of years people live in good health is stark and unacceptable. Health disparities exist across a wide variety of conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, and contribute to the unacceptable variation in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.

Blood: Donors

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage more people to become blood donors in Stockport.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for raising awareness of blood donation in England to make sure blood components are available at the right time, including platelet and plasma components and plasma for medicines. They do this through a range of local and national media, marketing activity, donor and patient case studies, partnerships, and engagement with faith organisations, including work within Greater Manchester. NHSBT continues to invest and prioritise the diversification of the donor base to better support the changing demographics of National Health Service patients and help reduce health disparities. Since September 2021, the science relating to blood, organ, and stem cell donation forms part of the secondary school curriculum in England, aimed at promoting awareness in young people.

Transplant Surgery: North West

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are on the organ donation waiting list in the North West.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS Blood and Transplant is responsible for organ donation in the United Kingdom. As of 31 October 2023, there are 754 people on the waiting list in the North West.

Dental Services: City of Durham

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for registering with an NHS dentist in City of Durham constituency in the latest period for which data is available.

Andrea Leadsom: Patients do not routinely join National Health Service dental waiting lists and are only registered with a dental practice for a course of treatment. We are working on our Dentistry Recovery Plan which will address how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.

General Practitioners: Medical Records

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GP practices do not provide access to health records through the NHS app.

Andrea Leadsom: Three out of four General Practices across the country now give patients access to their new health record information on the National Health Service app or online.For the remainder, digital leads and commissioners in Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will regularly meet with practices to address configuration issues and review plans to provide patient access. ICBs will offer performance management support where needed to increase confidence and complete preparations.Public communications campaigns are in place across the national digital channels (including publishing progress in trade media and across professional networks) to drive GP demand for access.

Healthy Start Scheme

Andrew Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 16th October 2023 to Question 200467 on the Healthy Start Scheme, what is the NHS Business Services Authority's timeline on when they will obtain contact data for those eligible for but not accessing the Healthy Start scheme.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is currently working with the Department for Work and Pensions to obtain contact data for those eligible for but not accessing the Healthy Start scheme. The NHSBSA expects to receive this data in early 2024.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with her international counterparts on mutual recognition of dentistry schemes.

Andrea Leadsom: To practise in the United Kingdom, dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) are required to hold registration with the General Dental Council (GDC). To be entered into the dentists register, an individual must hold a recognised UK dentistry qualification; an European Economic Area qualification recognised under European Union exit standstill arrangements; hold one of a small number of overseas qualifications awarded before 2001 and recognised under legacy arrangements; or they must sit the Overseas Registration Exam or Licence in Dental Surgery examinations to demonstrate they have suitable skill and experience to practise in the UK. Under legislative changes which came into force in March 2023, the GDC was granted the flexibility to recognise additional overseas qualifications as sufficient to achieve registration to practise in the UK. The Department will continue to discuss whether there are other qualifications or registration routes that could be considered with the GDC and other relevant partners as appropriate.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the General Dental Council on increased investment in the applications process for dentists with overseas qualifications.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department meets regularly with the General Dental Council (GDC) to discuss application and registration processes for dentists with overseas qualifications. The Department welcomes the GDC’s recent announcements that it is increasing the number of places available to sit the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). The GDC has tripled the number of places on sittings of ORE Part 1 for all sittings from August 2023 to the end of 2024. The GDC has also added an additional sitting of ORE Part 2 in 2024, bringing the total number of sittings up to four.

Electronic Cigarettes

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to ban single use disposable vapes.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is consulting on a range of proposals to tackle the rise in children vaping. The includes measures to restrict the supply of single use vapes, such as a potential future ban.   Details of the full range of proposals under consideration are set out in the Government consultation “Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping” which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping  The consultation is live until 6 December, and we will publish our response shortly after.

Blood: Medical Equipment

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy apheresis capacity; and what plans her Department has to increase that capacity.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS England Specialised Commissioning, via the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Reference Group (CRG), is undertaking an assessment of the available apheresis capacity across England, working with NHS Blood and Transplant. The first phase of this assessment is complete and the CRG will define the next phase of this assessment at its meeting in November.NHS Blood and Transplant is the largest provider of apheresis services and has been increasing capacity significantly over a number of years, averaging an increase of about 10% per annum. There are a number of projects expected in the next 12 months to both increase nursing capacity and the physical space in which apheresis occurs.Horizon scanning within the advanced therapy area suggests that a significant increase in cell collection will be required within the next three to five years. The MedTech Funding Mandate for Spectra Optia in sickle cell disease has assisted in funding the expansion of services. NHS England is working in partnership with the Health Innovation Network to deliver the requirements of the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy which mandates the delivery of the Spectra Optia Apheresis System for the automation of red cell exchange for sickle cell patients. Funding has been provided to increase access to this technology across the country.

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists from overseas were registered in (a) 2022, (b) between 1 January and 7 March 2023 and (c) since 8 March 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) practising in the United Kingdom and enforces the standards they must adhere to. In order to practise in the UK, dentists and DCPs are required to hold registration with the GDC. The Department does not hold data on how many dentists and DCPs have been registered with the GDC. The GDC holds its own data on dentists and DCPs who have been registered with them. The GDC regularly publish registration reports on their website; they are available at the following link:https://www.gdc-uk.org/about-us/what-we-do/the-registers/registration-reports

Health Visitors

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department holds data on the number of health visits carried out per local authority in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: Since 2015, when commissioning was moved to local authorities, the Department has annually published statistics on the number of mandatory visits delivering the Healthy Child Programme by health visitors. Health visitors also deliver non-mandated visits, but we do not routinely collect or publish these numbers.   Published data at local authority level for each financial year since 2016/17 is available at the following link:   https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-and-maternal-health-statistics#health-visitor-service-delivery

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people (a) on the prescription charge exemption list, (b) over 60 years old, (c) on the NHS low income scheme and (d) on benefits that qualify them for free prescriptions received free prescriptions for each condition in the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: A list of people who are exempt from prescription charges is not collected or held centrally. The NHS Business Services Authority collects data on the number of prescription items that are exempt from charges. For the financial year 2022/23, 95% of all items dispensed were exempt from prescription charges due to items being covered by a prescription prepayment certificate or exempt from charges because the person or medicine was covered by an existing exemption.

Semaglutide

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the total number of patients in England that NHS weight management services has capacity to provide semaglutide treatment for in the next 12 months.

Andrea Leadsom: Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that Wegovy (semaglutide) should only be used in the National Health Service within a specialist weight management service, including but not limited to tier 3 and 4 services. NHS specialist weight management services are generally hospital based. We do not have an estimate of the capacity of these services to provide semaglutide treatment for in the next 12 months.On 7 June 2023, the Government announced pilots to explore ways to make obesity drugs safely available to more patients living with obesity outside of hospital settings. If successful, these pilots could increase the number of patients who can benefit from these treatments.

Primary Health Care

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) dentists, (b) GPs and (c) pharmacists per 100,000 people in each integrated care system area; and if he will publish those estimates by Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Andrea Leadsom: Information on pharmacists is not held in the format requested. Copies of tables showing the requested information for dentists and general practitioners are attached.A range of analysis is undertaken to assess the impact of policies on health inequalities. However, data in the specific format requested is not published or held by the Department.GP table  (docx, 24.3KB)Dentistry table  (docx, 23.4KB)

Dentistry: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a centre for dental development in York.

Andrea Leadsom: No assessment has been made of the potential merits of establishing a centre for dental development in York. For areas wishing to establish a centre for dental development, the responsibility for this falls to their local integrated care board (ICB).As proposed centres for dental development are developed by ICBs in England, we will work closely and collaboratively with areas to support their creation. NHS England is working with ICBs to develop a resource for publication, to support ICBs with considering how to establish a centre in their area.

General Practitioners

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential benefits to patient safety of a national alert system to (a) flag unsafe levels of workload and (b) allow GPs to access additional support.

Andrea Leadsom: It is for integrated care boards to work with practices to determine appropriate local escalation processes for periods of increased demand. We are working to reduce unnecessary workload and cut bureaucracy for general practice staff by implementing the Bureaucracy Busting Concordat, improving the interface between primary and secondary care, and streamlining the Investment and Impact Fund, and we are building capacity in the system by recruiting larger multidisciplinary teams. There are now over 31,000 full-time equivalent additional primary care professionals in post compared to March 2019.

HIV Infection and Viral Diseases: Screening

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Answer of 20 July 2023 to 194469 on HIV Infection and Viral Diseases: Screening, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the opt-out HIV and blood-borne virus testing programme in tackling health inequalities.

Andrea Leadsom: On 9 November 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published an evaluation of the first year of the bloodborne virus (BBV) opt-out testing in emergency departments in local areas with extremely high HIV prevalence. This includes a public health evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the opt-out testing programme and assessment of any potential inequalities in the uptake of bloodborne virus testing and linkage to care.Findings show that the programme has made a significant contribution to BBV testing in England with more than half the number of tests done in the programme compared to BBV tests in other settings. The programme has been particularly successful in engaging harder to reach groups, such as older people, women, people from non-white British backgrounds, and people living in the most deprived areas.The UKHSA report is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bloodborne-viruses-opt-out-testing-in-emergency-departments/emergency-department-bloodborne-virus-opt-out-testing-12-month-interim-report-2023

Cabinet Office

Question

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department is taking to strengthen national security.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office leads on, and coordinates across government, key elements of the UK’s national security policy. This includes the development and implementation of the Integrated Review Refresh. Published in March, the Refresh updated the government’s security, defence, development and foreign policy priorities to reflect changes in the global context since the Integrated Review 2021. Flowing from this, the Cabinet Office has played a key role in developing and overseeing the National Cyber Strategy, National Security and Investment Programme, and the Biological Security Strategy. The department is taking essential steps to ensure delivery of these and other issues. Specific recent outcomes include the launch of the National Security and Investment Act call for evidence, and the leading role the department has played in coordinating the government’s response to several international and domestic crises.

Blood: Contamination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, published 5 April 2023, if he will take steps to establish an Arms Length Body to administer the compensation scheme for individuals (a) infected and (b) affected by contaminated blood.

John Glen: The Government has committed to responding to the recommendations in the second interim report, including the recommendation to establish an arms-length body, following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report.

Minister without Portfolio

Owen Thompson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) diary appointments, (b) planned visits and (c) other ministerial activities of the Cabinet Office Minister of State (Minister without Portfolio), the Rt hon. Member for Tatton, for the next six months.

Alex Burghart: Ministers regularly meet with departmental officials and external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Home Office

Sexual Offences

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it an offence to (a) enable and (b) profit from the commercial sexual exploitation of another person.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to discourage demand for trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Laura Farris: Tackling all forms of sexual exploitation remains a top priority for this Government. The acts of buying and selling sex are not in themselves illegal in England and Wales and we have no plans to change the law in this area. However, the Government’s focus is on tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution and sex work. There are already offences in place to tackle illegal activities that can be associated with prostitution, including sections 52 and 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which cover offences of causing or inciting prostitution for gain and controlling prostitution for gain. Sexual exploitation related to human trafficking is an offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 also gives law enforcement agencies and courts the tools, such as Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders and Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders, to take action against offenders and prevent future offending. The new Online Safety Act 2023 includes these crimes as priority offences. Online companies, including adult services websites (ASWs), will have a duty to prevent illegal content relating to sexual exploitation appearing on their sites.

Biometric Residence Permits

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for resolving technical faults relating to the issuing of Biometric Residence Permit cards.

Robert Jenrick: The incidences of technical issues preventing Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) card production are very low. Where issues are encountered, operational case working teams and IT Support endeavour to resolve the issue swiftly without any adverse impacts for the applicant.For the very small proportion of cases that could not be resolved immediately, the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) are available to provide support to applicants to verify their immigration status and permission to work and rent properties in the UK.Longer term, the Home Office is developing a border and immigration system which will be digital by default. The ambition is to phase out physical documents, such as BRP’s, before the end of 2024 as we move towards a system of online evidence of immigration status (eVisas).

Armed Forces: Israel

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has provided recent guidance to (a) UK citizens and (b) dual-nationals who volunteer as (i) reservists and (ii) active personnel in the Israeli Defence Force.

Tom Tugendhat: The FCDO has advised against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and against all travel to some locations in the region.By definition, a British dual national is a citizen of the UK and any other nation for which they hold citizenship. Dual citizenship (also known as dual nationality) is allowed in the UK and dual nationals may be liable for military service in the country of their other nationality. The UK recognises the right of British dual nationals to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationality.Anyone who travels to conflict zones to engage in unlawful activity, should expect to be investigated upon their return to the UK. Decisions on prosecutions are taken independently by the police and Crown Prosecution Service on a case-by-case basis.

Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 1309 on Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership, with which relevant partners in Northern Ireland his Department consulted; and when these consultations took place.

Robert Jenrick: This approach was taken following discussions over financial years 22-23 and 23-24 with Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) as the NI SMP host and The Executive Office of Northern Ireland.

Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 25 July 2023 to Question 194352 on Crime, when his Department plans to (a) complete and (b) publish its review of the updated estimates for the Economic and Social Costs of Crime report.

Chris Philp: The Economic and Social Costs of Crime, Second Edition” was published by the Home Office in July 2018. An update to the economic and social cost of fraud against individuals has since been published in the Fraud Strategy (May 2023). Together, these documents are currently the most comprehensive source for the estimated economic and social costs of these specified crimes against individuals and businesses.Home Office officials are still reviewing more up to date estimates therefore, as in July and February, we do not currently have any plans to publish updated estimates.References:Fraud Strategy, Annex 3: Fraud Strategy: stopping scams and protecting the public (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The Economic and Social Costs of Crime: Second Edition The economic and social costs of crime (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Emergency Services: Accidents

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will undertake a review of the current system for compensation following fatal road traffic collisions with emergency service vehicles.

Chris Philp: Compensation following a road collision involving the emergency services should be sought via motor insurance claims in the usual way. There are no current plans to review how compensation is awarded in these circumstances.

Greater Manchester Police: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the operational performance of Greater Manchester Police in the last 12 months.

Chris Philp: It is the responsibility of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to assess the operational performance of Greater Manchester Police, and for the Mayor of Greater Manchester to hold the Chief Constable to account for the progress being made.HMICFRS will shortly publish Greater Manchester Police’s next Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection report, which will provide an assessment of the force’s operational and organisational performance since their last PEEL report published in March 2022.

Asylum: Detainees

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who arrived in the UK since 20 July 2023 are held in detention centres.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on detention in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum seekers in detention is published in table Det_01 of the ‘detention summary tables’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to September 2022. More recent data on asylum seekers in detention is not available due to the on-going transition to a new case working system. We will seek to include this information in future editions of the publication when available.

Refugees: Palestinians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Homes for Palestinians scheme similar to Homes for Ukraine.

Robert Jenrick: Since 2015, over half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK. This includes over 28,600 individuals resettled to the UK under our global resettlement schemes. We continue to provide the most vulnerable refugees in need of protection a route to safety directly from regions of conflict and instability through these schemes, which include the UK Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement scheme. This represents one of the most generous resettlement offers in the UK’s history.However, the U.K. only has finite capacity. We cannot provide a safe and legal route for every conflict in the world. There are no plans to introduce bespoke arrangements for people arriving from the region, and we are not considering establishing a separate route for Palestinians to come to the UK.Immediate family members of British citizens, and those settled in the UK, who wish to come and live in the UK and do not have a current UK visa, can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.The UK’s efforts are focussed on ensuring aid reaches those who need in most.The Prime Minister announced on Monday 23 October that the UK will provide a further £20 million of humanitarian aid for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). This latest funding is in addition to the £10 million of aid announced by the Prime Minister last week.

Immigration

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people (a) were given and (b) had Indefinite Leave to Remain in each year since 1993.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) grants in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data covering the period 2011 onwards are published in table se_06 of the Settlement summary tables. Earlier data are available in table se_06 at Settlement data tables. (Downloads new file).The Home Office does not produce information on the UK population. These are the responsibility of the UK Office for National Statistics.

Department for Education

Abbey Lane Primary School: Concrete

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received on the costs of RAAC removal at Abbey Lane Primary in Sheffield.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the cost to Sheffield City Council of the removal of RAAC at Abbey Lane Primary.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will reimburse Sheffield City Council for the cost of RAAC removal at Abbey Lane Primary.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the costs of the removal of RAAC in schools will be reimbursed.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has received representations from Sheffield City Council on funding for the removal of RAAC from schools.

Damian Hinds: It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies – to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.The department will spend what it takes to keep pupils safe. Ministers and officials have regular discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury on a range of issues. The department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary.The department will fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to remove RAAC from the school estate. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants, or rebuilding projects through the School Rebuilding Programme. The department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.The department recognises that some responsible bodies will already have carried out emergency mitigation works, where RAAC was deemed ‘critical,’ based on the advice of the department’s surveys or from other qualified professionals, and in most cases we will reimburse these costs.Prior to 31 August, the point at which the department’s advice on the risks of RAAC changed, some responsible bodies or schools may also have chosen to take action on RAAC in their buildings where it was not deemed critical, and others may have chosen to go further and removed RAAC entirely. In these cases, as with any other capital works, the responsible bodies will have taken decisions as part of their own estate strategy, based on their assessment of any professional advice they had received and the affordability of the project.This work would typically have been funded through annual capital funding provided by the department to the sector, or from other sources of funding, such as a responsible body’s reserves. In these cases, the department is not providing additional funding to the funding already provided to responsible bodies to pay for this and other maintenance work.The department will carefully consider claims submitted by responsible bodies for essential RAAC related works, taking into account the particular circumstances of each case, to determine how the approach above should apply. This includes any claims submitted in relation to Abbey Lane Primary School, and the department will work with the school to understand the scope of the work that has been carried out and its cost.In addition to the department’s support on RAAC, it has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the financial year 2023/24 to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In 2023/24, Sheffield local authority received a school condition allocation of £3,592,655 for improving the condition of its school buildings. Alongside this, the department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and sixth form colleges over the coming decade through the School Rebuilding Programme.The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions. The government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.

Children and Young People: Arts and Exercise

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to offer (a) physical activity and (b) the arts to engage with children and young people not regularly in school.

Damian Hinds: Regular attendance at school is vital for children's education, wellbeing and long-term development. The foundation of securing good attendance is that school is a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive environment where all pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn. This includes the positive impact that the curriculum as a whole can have to support children's attendance and engagement.The government published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan update in July. The action plan is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-sport-and-activity-action-plan. It sets out next steps and further detail for school leaders and teachers on how the government will support them to improve the quality of PE and school sport and to deliver 2 hours of PE a week. This will help all pupils to engage in physical activity and meet the Chief Medical Officers’ recommendations of 60 active minutes a day.The government published the National Plan for Music Education last year, setting a clear expectation on schools to deliver 1 hour a week of timetabled music for key stages 1 to 3, alongside opportunities to learn to sing, play an instrument, and take part in choirs and ensembles. This is backed by £79 million of funding per year for Music Hubs to 2025 and £25 million for music instruments. The plan is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-power-of-music-to-change-lives-a-national-plan-for-music-education.The government expects all schools to teach a broad and ambitious curriculum that encompasses the arts, such as art and design, drama and dance. The department will be publishing a Cultural Education Plan in the coming months, working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. The Plan will focus on how the government can support participation and progression in a wide range of arts subjects and activities, particularly for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups. It will also support young people who wish to pursue careers in the creative, cultural, and heritage industries.

Apprentices: Small Businesses

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many small and medium-sized businesses offered apprenticeships using funding not drawn on by larger businesses under the apprenticeship levy in each of the last three years.

Robert Halfon: The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the department’s reforms, incentivising larger businesses to develop apprenticeship programmes or support their supply chains to employ apprentices. The money that levy-payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeship training in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), so all companies can benefit from training apprentices. The introduction of the levy has enabled the government to grow investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year.The department publishes statistics on apprenticeship starts by enterprise size, with latest figures showing starts up to the 2020/21 academic year. SMEs typically do not pay the levy and will benefit from the funds that levy-payers do not use. These statistics are published on GOV.UK at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment ofthe potential merits of introducingan appeals process for parents and carers fined fortaking their child out of school during term time.

Damian Hinds: Where a child is registered at a school, regular attendance is vital for their attainment, wellbeing and long-term development. The department is clear that parents should do everything they can to ensure that their child is in school every day. The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to receive an efficient, full-time education, and it is the legal responsibility of every parent to ensure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or otherwise than at a school.Where parents choose to register their child at a school, the law places a duty on the parents to ensure their child of compulsory school age attends school regularly. If parents fail to do this, they may be guilty of an offence and be issued a penalty notice or prosecuted. A parent has no right of appeal against a penalty notice. The penalty notice offers the parent the opportunity to avoid any conviction for the offence if it is paid in full and on time. If the penalty is not paid in full and on time, the local authority must decide either to prosecute the parent for the original offence or withdraw the notice.If the local authority decides to prosecute, the parent and the local authority will have the opportunity to present their case to the court. The court will then make a decision based on the representations made.

Pupils: Domestic Abuse

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken for school admission decisions to be made for pupils temporarily residing in domestic abuse refuges; and if she will take steps with local authorities to reduce that time.

Damian Hinds: The government has not carried out a recent assessment of the time taken to secure a school place for children living in domestic abuse refuges, but has changed the School Admissions Code in 2021 to improve support for the in-year admission of vulnerable children and help to reduce to a minimum any gaps in their education.The 2021 Code requires admission authorities to inform parents of the outcome of their in-year application within 15 school days. Where a parent is having difficulty securing a place following the in-year process, each local authority must have a Fair Access Protocol (FAP) which requires an eligible child to be allocated a school place within 20 school days. The government extended eligibility for the FAP in the new Code to children who are living in a refuge or other relevant accommodation.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department plans to provide to (a) schools, (b) academy trusts and (c) Essex County Council to support pupils with special educational needs in each of the next three years.

David Johnston: The department provides funding for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to local authorities through their dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations.In respect of mainstream schools, local authorities are required by regulations to identify, for each of the mainstream schools in their area, an amount (sometimes referred to as a notional budget) within their overall budget, which helps the school understand what may be required to meet the additional cost of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), up to £6,000 a year per pupil.During the 2023/24 financial year the department has provided local authorities’ DSG allocations totalling £42.9 billion for their mainstream schools. Of this amount, local authorities have identified notional SEN budgets for their schools amounting to a total of £4.9 billion.Essex County Council has been allocated £1.1 billion for mainstream schools in its area, of which it has identified £160.7 million in total as the amount that schools might need for their pupils with SEN.When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the authority’s high needs budget. This may follow a statutory assessment producing an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan, though local authorities have the discretion to provide top-up funding to pupils without an EHC plan.Local authorities are also allocated high needs funding through their DSG. Of the total high needs budget of over £10.1 billion nationally, the great majority of which is allocated to local authorities in England, Essex County Council has been allocated high needs funding amounting to £227 million in the 2023/24 financial year for securing provision for those with complex needs.High needs funding is increasing in the 2024/25 financial year to a total of over £10.5 billion, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. We have announced provisional 2024/25 high needs allocations for local authorities, and Essex County Council’s allocation is £240 million, which is an increase of 5% per head, and a cumulative 31% per head over the three years from 2021/22.Local authorities have not yet determined how much of their DSG will be identified for schools' notional SEN budgets in future years. All allocations of school funding beyond 2024/25 will be subject to decisions by the government that have not yet been taken.

Children: Hampshire

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the National Funding Formula for schools reflects the needs of children in Hampshire.

Damian Hinds: The National Funding Formula (NFF) distributes funding fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The NFF includes proxy factors through which pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to their school, such as low prior attainment, socio-economic status, and English as an Additional Language.Hampshire is attracting an extra £19 million for schools in 2024/25, an increase of 2.0% per pupil (excluding growth funding) through the schools NFF compared to 2023/24, and an increase of 13.3% per pupil compared to 2021/22. This takes total funding for 2024/25 in Hampshire to over £986 million, based on current pupil numbers. Final allocations for 2024/25 will be announced in December 2024.All schools will receive additional funding, beyond that provided through the NFF, through the Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG) in the 2024/25 financial year. A typical primary school with 200 pupils might be receiving around £20,000 through the TPAG in 2024/25, and a typical secondary school with 900 pupils might be receiving around £100,000.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have participated in the Holiday Activities Programme since that programme was launched.

David Johnston: This year the government invested over £200 million in the department’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all Local Authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays and continuing to do so until March 2025.The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.During the pilot phase of the programme in 2018, the HAF programme reached around 18,000 children across the country. In 2019, the HAF programme reached around 50,000 children in 11 Local Authority areas, and in 2020, the programme reached around 50,000 children across 17 Local Authority areas. The HAF programme was rolled out nationally in England, to all areas in 2021 and reached over 685,000 children and young people in summer 2022, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals.The 2023 data is not yet available.

Special Educational Needs

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Education, Health and Care Plans have been agreed in each local authority area in each year since 2014; and if she will make an estimate of the number of plans that will be agreed in each local authority area in each of the next five years.

David Johnston: The number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans in each Local Authority area is set out in published statistics, which are accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/150da0a4-2fef-4836-8c12-08dbe514ee42.The department does not make estimates of the number of plans in each Local Authority area for the next five years. However, in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, the department set out its proposals for EHC plans reform, including to develop reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent EHC plan process. The department’s proposed reforms aim to improve the system and ensure that children and young people who require an EHC plan get access to the support they need.

Relationships and Sex Education

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the views of teachers are taken into account in its review of the Relationships, Sex, Health and Education statutory guidance.

Damian Hinds: In carrying out its review of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance, the department has sought evidence from a range of stakeholders, including groups representing teachers and schools, to share evidence about areas of the guidance they think should be strengthened.A small group of teachers also contributed their views directly in the roundtables with Ministers, which took place over summer 2023, focusing on key topics such as suicide prevention and RSHE teaching materials.Teachers will also have an opportunity to present their views as part of the public consultation on revised guidance due to be launched in the coming months.

Children: Allergies

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides schools on protecting children with allergies; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to have access to adrenaline injections for pupil safety.

Damian Hinds: In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and published the ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ statutory guidance for schools and others. This guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported in schools. Instead, it focuses on how to meet the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition affects school life.Schools also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures, and policies to ensure that they are not putting those with certain long-term health problems at a substantial disadvantage.Under the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017, all schools can buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis, but their own device is not available or not working. The Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance on using emergency AAIs in schools, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schools.

Schools: Central Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to support Central Bedfordshire Council with the transition from a three-tier to a two-tier school system.

Damian Hinds: Local Authorities can decide to transition from a three-tier to a two-tier school system. It is a Local Authority’s responsibility to manage such a transition. The Secretary of State is aware of some of the challenges faced, and recently met with parents, staff as well as representatives from the local community to discuss their concerns around delivering Central Bedfordshire Council’s transitional arrangements. The department’s role is to approve or decline changes to age ranges for schools that are academies. To date, the department has approved seven applications to support academies to become either primary or secondary schools.The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support Local Authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. While this funding is not designed to fund transitions from a three-tier to a two-tier system, the funding is not ringfenced, therefore it is not subject to published conditions and Local Authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities. Central Bedfordshire Council will receive just under £36.1 million for places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the five financial years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just under £121.3 million.

Social Services: Tameside

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the financial capability of Tameside Council to effectively provide and manage her Department's improvement process for Children’s Services.

David Johnston: The department is not responsible for the overall financial health of local authorities. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provide authorities with an overall funding agreement which local authorities are then responsible for dispersing within their services, of which children’s services is a part of. It is therefore for the local authority to decide how funding is allocated to improve its children’s services.The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion, or 9.4% in cash terms, in 2022/23. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best place to understand local priorities.A breakdown of the key element of annual funding for each local authority in England, including Tameside Council, since 2016/17, as announced at that year’s settlement, are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-information-for-local-authorities-final-local-government-finance-settlement-2023-to-2024.

Educational Psychology: Training

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of part-funding the training of educational psychologists; and whether she is taking steps to increase the number of educational psychologists.

David Johnston: The department knows that educational psychologists play a vital role in the support available to children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.That is why, since 2020, the department has increased the number of educational psychologist trainees that it funds, from 160 to over 200 per annum, to continue supporting Local Authority educational psychology services. This includes full funding for the tuition fees and a bursary for the first year, while a bursary for the second and third years of training is funded by local authorities where trainees undertake their placements.In November 2022, the department announced a further £21 million investment to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024, in addition to the £10 million announced earlier in 2022 to train over 200 educational psychologists from September 2023.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme: Gloucestershire

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils attended holiday activities and food programmes in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire during summer (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

David Johnston: The below table includes data for Gloucestershire local authority for Summer 2022. The department does not hold data below local authority level.2022LATOTAL number of attendees [sum of all incl. other] - Primary AgedTOTAL number of attendees [sum of all incl. other] - Secondary AgedOverallGloucestershire10,0783,10113,179 2023 data is not yet available.

Social Services: Tameside

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has received the data from the Tameside Children’s Services diagnostic exercise conducted before summer 2023.

David Johnston: The exercise referenced did not conclude as the Council re-directed the resource to concentrate on improvements. As a result, a formal report was not provided. However, the department has discussed the findings with the Council and are assured that the areas identified are embedded within the Council-owned Improvement Plan.

Schools: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will allocate additional funding for high needs provision in schools.

David Johnston: The majority of high needs funding from the department is allocated to local authorities, as they are responsible for allocating that funding to schools to support pupils with complex needs. The department has substantially increased high needs funding in recent years and has announced a further increase of £440 million for the 2024/25 financial year, which will bring the total high needs budget to over £10.5 billion, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Dedicated Schools Grant: Gloucestershire

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how large Gloucestershire County Council's Dedicated Schools Grant deficit is compared to other local authorities; and whether her Department is taking steps to help support Gloucestershire County Council to implement the (a) Safety Valve and (b) Delivering Better Value programmes.

David Johnston: Gloucestershire County Council’s Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit for 2021/22 was £17 million (3.26% of DSG funding). For 2022/23 the DSG deficit is £28.6 million (5.19% of 2022/23 DSG funding).Based on the 2021/22 figures, Gloucestershire County Council is the local authority with the 59th largest deficit.The department is taking steps to support Gloucestershire County Council through the Delivering Better Value in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme. The programme aims to help local authorities improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND and place their local systems on a more sustainable financial footing.Gloucestershire County Council is engaging positively with the programme and has completed the first phase which involves a root-cause diagnostic of its local system, engaging with its stakeholders; and the development of an implementation plan to address issues identified.

Pupils: Visual Impairment

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to take steps to ensure pupils with vision impairment can access transcriptions of accessible notation in (a) braille and (b) large print.

David Johnston: Under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has Special Educational Needs, including visual impairment, gets the special educational provision they need.All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. The MQSI provides sensory impairment teachers with the specialist expertise needed to ensure pupils with a visual impairment are supported effectively, including modifying, producing and adapting teaching and learning materials in an appropriate medium, such as braille or enlarged/modified text, to make them accessible and training to others in how this is done.

Classroom Assistants: Labour Turnover

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what she is doing to increase (a) retention and (b) recruitment rates of teaching assistants in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in England.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) retention rates of SEND teaching assistants in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in England.

Damian Hinds: The government’s education reforms gave schools the freedom to make their own decisions about recruitment, pay, conditions, and use of teaching assistants. Schools should have the freedom to make these decisions, as they are best placed to understand their pupils’ needs.The term ‘teaching assistant’ may refer to a range of roles, including classroom assistants, learning mentors, and learning support assistants. Most teaching assistants play a role supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), whether or not SEND is in their job title.The number of teaching assistants in schools has increased year on year since 2017/18, reaching 281,100 full time equivalent (FTE) teaching assistants working in state funded schools in 2022/23. This is an increase of 5,300 (1.9%) since 2021/22 and is the highest number since the School Workforce Census began in 2011/12.The number of teaching assistants increased in both primary and secondary schools. There were 185,000 FTE in state funded nursery and primary schools in 2022/23, an increase of 3,500 (1.9%) since 2021/22, and 49,000 FTE in state funded secondary schools in 2022, an increase of 800 (1.7%) since 2021/22.For schools that have teaching assistant vacancies, the government’s Teaching Vacancies service is a free, national job listing service that is saving schools money and delivering quality candidates. This service can help schools to list vacancies for both permanent and fixed term teaching staff, including teaching assistants.Schools can also access up to £7,000 in levy funding to train and upskill teaching assistants through the recently revised Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship.

Schools: Buildings

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have not completed the Government survey on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Damian Hinds: It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.All responsible bodies were requested to complete a questionnaire. We now have responses to these questionnaires for all of the schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 15,158.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Discrimination

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average settlement payment was following the resolution of (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination cases in his Department in the (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22 and (iv) 2022-23 financial years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The answer reflects damages paid in full and final settlement of common law compensation claims against the MOD where bullying, harassment or discrimination are the main causes of action. Given the way such claims are categorised and recorded, it is not possible to separate between bullying, harassment and discrimination.  (i) 2019-20: Average compensation £145,704.(ii) 2020-21: Average compensation £100,527.(iii) 2021-22: Average compensation £228,669.(iv) 2022-23: Average compensation £235,564.

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Discrimination

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many settlement payments his Department issued following claims of (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination in the (i) 2019-20 (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22 and (iv) 2022-23 financial years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The answer reflects damages paid in full and final settlement of common law compensation claims against the MOD where bullying, harassment or discrimination are the main causes of action. Given the way such claims are categorised and recorded, it is not possible to separate between bullying, harassment and discrimination. (i) 2019-20: Fewer than five.(ii) 2020-21: Fewer than five.(iii) 2021-22: Six.(iv) 2022-23: Twelve. The answer shows the year of the final damage payment where more than one payment has been made. Numbers fewer than five are not provided in order to reduce the possible inadvertent disclosure of claimant identities.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme: Complaints

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many complaints his Department received in relation to the transparency of decision making in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in the latest period for which data is available.

Dr Andrew Murrison: This information is not held in the specific detail requested. The total number of formal complaints submitted to the Complaint Resolution Team (CRT) that identified an AFCS decision as the root cause of the complaint is detailed in the below table:  Number of complaintsFinancial Year 2022-2381 April 23 – 31 August 20230*1 September 23 – 21 November 20230 *Improvements to the complaints process were implemented on 1 September 2023. Any complaint or disagreement related to an AFCS decision is now addressed by this new streamlined appeal process.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what resources were allocated to the delivery of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeframe is for delivering the recommendations of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Quinquennial Review 2022-23.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to ensuring that the AFCS delivers for those who make a claim, and there are mechanisms of assessment and accountability in place to ensure this is the case. The AFCS Quinquennial Review (QQR) takes place every five years to ensure the AFCS remains fit for purpose and to identify opportunities for improvement. The AFCS QQR 2022-23 was carried out by an independent reviewer with administrative support, as needed, provided by MOD staff. The MOD is carefully considering all the recommendations and the official Government response will be published by the end of the year, with a timeframe for delivering those recommendations which are accepted. The full report can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/quinquennial-review-of-the-armed-forces-compensation-scheme-2023-headline-findings-and-progress-report

Ministry of Defence: Qualifications

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that 60% of the finance workforce in his Department hold a professional qualification.

James Cartlidge: The Government Finance Function has developed a Finance Career Framework for civilian personnel; within the framework there is set taxonomy that states which roles require a qualification. The Department is committed to ensuring that personnel in roles requiring the finance professional qualification hold the appropriate skills and experience to undertake the roles. At 30 September 2023, there are 231 civilians working in roles that require the Level 7 finance qualification of which 193 (84%) are qualified with a further five studying for the qualification. There are a further 2462 civilians working in roles where the taxonomy states that Finance qualification (Level 4 and Level 7) is recommended or personnel are working towards the qualification, of which 1386 (56%) are qualified or studying for the qualification. The Department has also recently undertaken a Level 4 Apprentice recruitment campaign, recruiting 20 posts at the start of their finance careers to improve the pipeline of qualified personnel. The Department also encourage internal personnel to achieve a professional finance qualification; apprenticeships are our preferred route to qualification however alternative routes to qualification include direct study, with local colleges, and centrally provided programmes like CIMA Accelerated.

Defence: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraphs 3, 12 and 23 of the Integrated Review Refresh, CP811, published in March 2023, when his Department plans to achieve the aspiration of investing 2.5% of GDP in defence.

James Cartlidge: The Government has set its aspiration for defence spending to reach 2.5% of GDP as soon as fiscal and economic circumstances allow.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 22 of his Department's publication entitled Defence's response to a more contested and volatile world, published in July 2023, how much and what proportion of the £400 million to improve service accommodation has been spent as of 20 November 2023.

James Cartlidge: The Department will receive £220 million for financial year (FY) 2023-24 and £180 million for FY 2024-25, a total investment of £400, as part of the Defence Command Paper refresh 2023. The £220 million for this FY was received at the end of July 2023 and since then the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has been working at pace to approve works to improve Service Family Accommodation. As of 20 November 2023, £38 million or 17% of the £220 million has been spent and the works completed. A further £151 million or 69% has been allocated and is with the DIO's Industry Partners to deliver works. The remaining 14% balance is currently subject to financial approval. The DIO's Industry Partners are fully engaged to deliver the Service Family Accommodation improvement programme.

Ministry of Defence: Bullying and Discrimination

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination cases were opened by his Department in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many cases of (a) bullying, (b) harassment and (c) discrimination within his Department were closed in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (iv) 2022.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Questions. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Falkland Islands: Military Exercises

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military exercises that his Department has hosted have taken place on the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Falkland Islands: Shipping

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) frigates, (b) destroyers and (c) offshore patrol vessels have been based in British territorial waters around the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: In each year since 2010 the Royal Navy has had vessels permanently based in British territorial waters around the Falkland Islands as follows: 2010: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2011: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2012: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2013: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2014: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2015: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2016: 2 (HMS CLYDE / HMS ENTERPRISE)2017: 2 (HMS ENTERPRISE / HMS CLYDE)2018: 1 (HMS CLYDE)2019: 2 (HMS CLYDE / HMS SCOTT)2020: 2 (HMS SCOTT / HMS FORTH)2021: 1 (HMS FORTH)2022: 1 (HMS FORTH)2023: 2 (HMS FORTH / HMS MEDWAY)  HMS CLYDE, HMS FORTH and HMS MEDWAY are offshore patrol vessels while HMS ENTERPRISE and HMS SCOTT are Survey vessels. Destroyers and frigates have visited Falklands territorial waters from time to time on temporary deployments and HMS PROTECTOR has spent a portion of every year since 2012 in the Falklands area, except for 2020 when she was undergoing refit in the UK.

Falkland Islands: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military personnel and (b) civilian defence personnel have been stationed in the Falkland Islands in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: This information is not held centrally, and it has not been possible to obtain it in the time available. I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Mediterranean Region: Armed Forces

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces have been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel in the last four weeks.

James Heappey: Since 7 October 2023, the UK has deployed around 1,000 Armed Forces personnel to the Eastern Mediterranean to contribute to regional stability, deliver humanitarian aid and support UK interests.

Cyprus: Military Bases

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on proposals to establish a new Sovereign Base Area under a two-state solution in Cyprus.

James Heappey: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. The Secretary of State for Defence has not had any discussions with the Turkish Cypriot leader about UK basing or the Sovereign Base Areas on the island of Cyprus.

Military Exercises: Infrastructure

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) unilateral, (b) bilateral and (c) multilateral exercises his Department has conducted on the protection of undersea cables and critical national infrastructure in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is not the lead Department for resilience of undersea cables in the UK Marine Area; that responsibility sits with the Department for Science and Technology. Defence has therefore not conducted dedicated exercises related to the protection of such infrastructure over the time period in question. Defence does, however, frequently rehearse the capabilities which would be called upon in response to a threat to our subsea infrastructure. MOD has underwater capabilities able to be employed to monitor and assure subsea infrastructure, and has invested in a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) programme to enhance these capabilities further. These allow us to maintain maritime situational awareness, improve our ability to detect threats in the North Atlantic, and as a sovereign nation allow us to contribute to the defence and deterrence of the Euro Atlantic area. We continue to invest in strong working relationships with neighbouring states and alliance partners within NATO, to enhance our ability to respond to threats in this domain. We are committed to prepare for, deter and defend against threats to our subsea infrastructure.

Iraq: NATO

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel are part of the NATO Mission Iraq.

James Heappey: The UK has 33 personnel currently committed to NATO Mission Iraq.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the probability that the Government will spend the full £2.3 billion for Ukraine, as announced in the Autumn Statement 2022, by the end of the finance period.

James Heappey: We intend to spend the full amount.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2022, how much and what proportion of the £2.3 billion in military support for Ukraine has been spent as of 20 November 2023.

James Heappey: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave them on 5 July 2023 regarding the amount committed. The operational circumstances in Ukraine are constantly changing but the final out-turn of our spending will be provided in the Department's Annual Reports and Accounts for financial year 2023-24.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who sits on the Executive Panel of the International Fund for Ukraine.

James Heappey: The UK, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania comprise the Executive Panel of the International Fund for Ukraine.

Military Attachés

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries do not have a resident UK Defence Attache.

James Heappey: The table below has a list of countries covered on a Non-Residential Accreditations (NRA) basis, where a UK Defence Attaché (DA) is not resident in country, but a DA elsewhere has the responsibility. This ensures that we have coverage across the world’s regions.  Country (NRA)Location of DAAngolaPretoria – South AfricaAnguillaJamaica - KingstonAntigua & BarbuaJamaica - KingstonArmeniaGeorgia – TbilisiAzerbaijanGeorgia – TbilisiBahamasJamaica - KingstonBarbadosJamaica - KingstonBelarusUkraine – KyivBelizeJamaica - KingstonBeninAccra - GhanaBermudaUSA – Washington DCBoliviaUK – LondonBotswanaHarare - ZimbabweBritish Virgin IslandsJamaica - KingstonBurkina FasoGhana - AccraBurundiUganda – KampalaCambodiaSingaporeCape Verde IslandsUK-LondonCayman IslandsJamaica – KingstonCongoUK - LondonCubaMexico – Mexico CityDjiboutiEthiopia – Addis AbabaDominica Dominican RepublicJamaica - KingstonDemocratic Republic of the CongoKampala - UgandaEritreaSana’a - YemenEcuadorBogota - ColombiaGabonLondonGrenadaJamaica - KingstonGuineaSierra Leone – FreetownGuyanaJamaica - KingstonGuatemalaMexico – Mexico CityGuinea-BissauSenegal - DakarHaitiJamaica - KingstonHungaryCroatia - ZagrebIcelandNorway - OsloIvory CoastGhana – AccraKhartoumEgypt - CairoKosovoMacedonia - SkopjeKyrgyzstanKazakhstan – AstanaLesothoSouth Africa - PretoriaLiberiaSierra Leone - FreetownLibyaLibya - TripoliMalawiZimbabwe – HarareMaltaRomeMauritaniaMorocco – RabatMonacoFrance – ParisMongoliaJapan – TokyoMontenegroTirana – AlbaniaMyanmarSingapore (BDS SEA)MontserratJamaica - KingstonMozambiqueSouth Africa – PretoriaPanama CityPuerto RicoNamibiaSouth Africa – PretoriaNigerMali - BamakoPapua New GuineaAustralia – CanberraParaguayArgentina – Buenos AiresPeruColombia - BogotaRwandaUganda – KampalaSeychellesKenya - NairobiSt Kitts & NevisJamaica - KingstonSt LuciaJamaica - KingstonSt VincentJamaica - KingstonSlovakiaCzech Rep - PragueSloveniaAustria – ViennaSouth SudanAddis Ababa – EthiopiaSwitzerlandVienna - AustriaSyriaLebanonTajikistanKazakhstan – AstanaTanzaniaKenya – NairobiThe GambiaSenegal - DakarTimor-Leste (East Timor)Indonesia - JakartaTogoGhana – AccraTongaFiji – SuvaTrinidad & TobagoJamaica - KingstonTurkmenistanUzbekistan - TashkentTurks & Caicos IslandsJamaica - KingstonUruguayArgentina - Buenos AiresVanuatuFiji – SuvaVenezuelaBogota - ColombiaZambiaZimbabwe - Harare

Treasury

Mortgages: Costs

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in mortgage interest rates on levels of household disposable income in (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) England.

Bim Afolami: The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, we recognise this is a concerning time for mortgage borrowers. The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation. The independent Monetary Policy Committee continues to have the Government’s full support as it takes action to return inflation to target. The Government’s Mortgage Charter - in addition to the significant safeguards already in place - is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low. Over the last two years, the Government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Taken together, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022-25 - or £3,700 per UK household on average.

Bank Services: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to help secure free access to (a) cash withdrawals and (b) deposit facilities in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Bim Afolami: The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups. The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Importantly, in relation to personal current accounts the FCA is required to seek to ensure reasonable provision of free cash access services. Following this, the government published a Cash Access Policy Statement, which sets out the government’s policies on access to cash, including free cash access services. The FCA is required by law to have regard to these policies when determining its regulatory approach. The FCA will publicly consult on its regulatory approach in due course. The government’s policy statement is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cash-access-policy-statement/cash-access-policy-statement In the context of the government’s legislation, the financial services sector is working together to develop and provide shared cash services, such as Banking Hubs and cash deposit services. To date, industry has committed to deliver new shared cash services in over 170 communities.

Low Incomes: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to people on lower incomes in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Laura Trott: The Government announced further support at Autumn Statement 2023 to support the most vulnerable: From 1 April 2024, the Government is increasing the NLW by 9.8% for 2.7 million low paid workers. Local Housing Allowance rates will rise to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024 for 1.6 million households. The government will also uprate all working age benefits in full by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%, benefitting 5.5 million households in 2024-25. This brings the total support over 2022-2025 to help households with the high cost of living to £104 billion – an average of £3,700 per UK household. As part of the Government’s long-term plan to grow the economy and reform the tax system, employees will see their main National Insurance Contribution (NICs) rate cut from 12% to 10% from January 2024 onwards, and the main rate of Class 4 NICs for the self-employed will be reduced from 9% to 8% from April 2024. This is a tax cut worth over £9bn per year, the largest ever cut to employee and self-employed National Insurance. Looking across all tax, welfare and spending decisions made since Spending Round 2019, the impact of government action continues to be progressive, with the poorest households receiving the largest benefit as a percentage of income in 2024-25.

Small Businesses: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the impact of increases in the cost of living on the numbers of (a) businesses at risk of insolvency and (b) people in debt in Mid Bedfordshire constituency; and what fiscal steps he is taking to support those (i) businesses and (ii) people.

Laura Trott: The Government announced at Autumn Statement 2023 a business rates support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 5 years to support small businesses and the high street. The small multiplier will be frozen and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief will be extended, which will ensure that the most vulnerable businesses continue to be supported. The Government also announced further support to protect families: this brings total support over 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help households with the high cost of living to £104 billion – an average of £3,700 per UK household.  The Government continues to maintain record levels of funding for the Money and Pensions Service to provide debt advice in England, bringing their debt advice budget to £92.7 million in 2023/24. Data from 2021 on debt advice in Mid Bedfordshire is published by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). This can be found here: https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/2021/09/30/need-for-debt-advice-2021-estimates-for-uk-constituencies-and-local-authorities/

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Afghanistan: Earthquakes

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to provide support to Afghanistan following the earthquakes in October 2023.

Leo Docherty: Following the first earthquake on 7 October, FCDO quickly allocated £1 million to the Red Cross to help meet emergency needs, and a further £1 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) in response to further shocks. This support will ensure affected communities receive emergency shelter, food and health assistance. Overall, $10 million has been allocated from the AHF and a further $5 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, which the UK supports. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Mongolia: Foreign Relations

Catherine West: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen British links with Mongolia.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We value our partnership with Mongolia, as we celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. The President of Mongolia attended Their Majesties' Coronation. The Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Mongolia (the member for Shrewsbury and Atcham), the Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey) and the Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade (Nusrat Ghani) have all visited Mongolia this year. This week I [Minister Trevelyan] met the visiting Mongolian Culture Minister to discuss strengthening bilateral links. We will continue to build our relationship and strengthen our cooperation with Mongolia.

Israel: Palestinians

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian counterparts on the recent escalation of violence in the West Bank.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he last had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on recent increases in violence in the West Bank.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary last raised settler violence with his Israeli counterpart on 17 November. Reports of Palestinian civilians being murdered by settlers in Occupied Palestinian Territories are appalling. Whilst we welcome statements from Israeli Ministers including Prime Minister Netanyahu condemning settler violence, we must see tangible action to bring perpetrators to justice.The UK also condemns attacks against Israel emanating from armed groups in the region. The former Foreign Secretary spoke with the Palestinian Authority, the Government of Jordan and other regional partners about how best to work together to ensure tensions do not escalate further.

Gaza: British Nationals Abroad

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his (a) Egyptian and (b) Israeli counterparts on ensuring British nationals fleeing Gaza are not separated from their families.

David Rutley: As the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have said, the safety of British nationals remains our top priority. We are working closely with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities round the clock to ensure our British nationals can leave Gaza as soon as possible. Humanitarian pauses are helping British nationals to leave Gaza and we are urging Israel to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. The UK has a team at the Rafah crossing to ensure we can provide the necessary consular and administrative support needed to British nationals when they cross. We are providing support for British nationals to get from Rafah to Cairo, where we have set up a reception centre and have arranged temporary accommodation. Additional Consular and Border Force staff are in country to support this work, as is an FCDO Rapid Deployment Team and a team of British Red Cross psychological support experts. More than 200 British nationals and their dependants have left Gaza so far; this is well over half of those who registered with the FCDO initially.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of when (a) the British Virgin Islands, (b) the Turks and Caicos Islands, (c) the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, (d) the Pitcairn Islands, (e) St Helena, (f) Montserrat, (g) the Falkland Islands, (h) the Cayman Islands, (i) Bermuda and (j) Anguilla will implement a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership.

David Rutley: We discussed the timeline for implementation of Publicly Accessible Registers of Beneficial Ownership at the Joint Ministerial Council over 14 - 15 November in plenary, in the margins and in bilateral meetings. We have made progress with the majority of the inhabited Overseas Territories (OTs). Some are yet to confirm precise timelines. Intensive discussions continue with these OTs, led by Ministers. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of those discussions before recess.

Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department plans to report on (a) any decisions reached and (b) points in discussions from the annual Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council on 26 and 27 November 2023.

David Rutley: At the November Joint Ministerial Council, the UK Government agreed a Declaration with the elected Governments of the Overseas Territories (OTs), providing a new framework for our relationship with the OTs that is based on our shared values, and is fit for the 21st Century. A Written Ministerial Statement on the Declaration will be made once it has been approved by the Cabinets and Executive Councils of the OT.The UK and OTs also discussed the timeline for implementation of publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership. Intensive discussions continue and we have made progress with the majority of the OTs. We will inform Parliament of the outcome of these discussions before recess.

Nigeria: Sanctions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on Nigeria if Nnamdi Kanu is not released.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ministers and officials have raised Nnamdi Kanu's case with the Nigerian authorities on multiple occasions. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will take the steps we consider most effective regarding our consular assistance to Mr Kanu and will keep these under review, as has been done in the past. We do not speculate on future sanctions as doing so can limit their impact.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that British humanitarian aid to Gaza is not used by Hamas.

David Rutley: The UK condemns all forms of terror, including Hamas' 7 October massacre, and we are clear that Hamas can have no future in Gaza. Hamas does not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. The entirety of Hamas has been a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK since November 2021. The FCDO carries out thorough due diligence assessment of all aid donations and ensures partners have procedures in place to manage the main risks of aid diversion from activities it funds including specific controls to ensure that cash/food assistance goes direct to the intended beneficiaries. Additionally, FCDO Humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories operates with an enhanced sensitivity and existing additional safeguards to protect against any possibility of aid diversion. These safeguards include measures on verification and mapping of downstream partners, non-payment of local taxes and enhanced due diligence processes.

Gaza: British Nationals Abroad

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many requests for assistance his Department has received from British nationals that have been unable to use the Rafah crossing as of 14 November 2023.

David Rutley: We are working closely with Egypt and Israel to ensure all British nationals who want to leave Gaza can exit via the Rafah crossing or other routes as quickly as possible. Over 200 British nationals and their dependents have crossed into Egypt and we are continuing to offer support to those that are yet to cross. The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority. We are doing everything we can to support all British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and are working closely with Israeli counterparts and international partners.

Hamas: Hostage Taking

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of British nationals held hostage by Hamas in Gaza as of 14 November 2023.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to provide consular support to the families of British nationals held hostage in Gaza.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) international counterparts and (b) Cabinet colleagues to support the release of British hostages in Gaza.

David Rutley: The Government's thoughts are with those families who are facing unimaginable uncertainty and fear because of these despicable attacks and kidnappings. We are not commenting on specific numbers or individual cases. The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we continue to do everything we can to secure the release of all hostages, including working with Israeli counterparts and international partners at the highest levels.

India: Diplomatic Service

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many British diplomatic staff are based in the Republic of India as of 15 November 2023.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The FCDO currently has between 40-49 staff, in October 2023, working in India.

Jagtar Singh Johal

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department last made representations to the Government of India on the case of Jagtar Singh Johal.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government has raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case, including his allegations of torture, with the Government of India on over 110 occasions and will continue to do so. Mr Johal's case was raised most recently on 13 November by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, with the Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

India: Religious Freedom

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will raise with the UN the issue of the failure of the Indian Government to respond to the letter of 16 August 2023 from the UN Rapporteurs for Freedom of Religion or Belief and for Minority Issues on religious persecution in that country.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government remains committed to championing human rights around the world and we work with the UN and other multilateral fora to promote Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). For India's 2022 Universal Periodic Review, we recommended India reinforce efforts to protect the rights of all minorities as enshrined in the Indian Constitution. We have a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India, and discuss all elements of our relationship, including human rights and FoRB, and raise concerns where we have them, including at Ministerial level.

Cyprus: British Nationals Abroad

Lee Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what information his Department holds on the number of British citizens who are not able to travel directly to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and whether he has had recent discussions with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart on this matter.

Leo Docherty: In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state. Under the Chicago Convention, only the Republic of Cyprus may designate an airport for international flights. It has not done so for Ercan airport. As such, it is not possible to fly directly between the UK and the north of Cyprus. Ministers have not discussed this topic with the Turkish Cypriot administration and the FCDO does not hold information about how many British citizens are unable to travel directly to the north of Cyprus.

Myanmar: Sanctions

Sarah Champion: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the implementation of UK sanctions against the Burmese military.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Since the coup in February 2021, we have imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and 29 entities. On 31 October, we announced our sixteenth round of sanctions, targeting those who profit from supplying Myanmar's military with finance and arms. Our sanctions implementation is robust - HM Treasury assesses every instance of reported non-compliance and takes action in all cases where we conclude a breach has occurred. The UK is considering a range of further targets to hold the Myanmar regime to account and will continue to maintain international efforts to ensure sanctions are effective and investigate activities that support circumvention.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

James Murray: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how much financial support his Department has provided to Rohingya refugees in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh in each of the last five financial years.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK has been a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, providing over £373 million in humanitarian support for the crisis since 2017. This includes direct funding to the refugee camp at Cox's Bazar and to UNHCR, the World Food Programme and other agencies that work on refugee issues.

Nnamdi Kanu

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that the Nigerian Supreme Court is being pressured by the Nigerian Federal Government to prevent the release of British citizen Nnamdi Kanu.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are aware of the Nigerian Supreme Court hearing on Mr Nnamdi Kanu's case, due to take place on 15 December 2023. We are closely following all developments regarding Mr Kanu's case, including the outcome of this hearing. The FCDO will continue to take the steps we consider most effective regarding our consular assistance to Mr Kanu and will keep these under review.

Gaza: Armed Conflict

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what the Government's position is on the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to investigate the conduct of all parties in Gaza.

David Rutley: The UK is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court. We respect the independence of the Court and note the comments of the Prosecutor on this matter.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Internet: Pornography

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require websites to verify that every person featured in pornographic content on their platform (a) is an adult and (b) gave their permission for the content to be published on that platform.

Saqib Bhatti: Any material featuring the sexual exploitation and abuse of children is captured by the criminal law. The Online Safety Act, which received Royal Assent on 26 October, requires in-scope services to put in place proactive, preventative measures to limit people’s exposure to child sexual exploitation and abuse content and remove it expeditiously. The Act will also bring in a new offence for intimate image abuse, which will criminalise the sharing of intimate images or films without consent.Additionally, the government has committed to undertaking a review of pornography legislation, regulation and enforcement, which will assess whether the regulation of online pornography in the UK is fit for purpose in tackling exploitation and abuse.

Polar Regions: Research

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Natural Environment Research Council funding rules on UK Polar research.

Andrew Griffith: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is the leading funder of natural environment research in the United Kingdom. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is part of NERC and operates polar infrastructure and facilities on NERC’s behalf, including the polar research vessel and research stations, to enable polar science and research activity. NERC funding, including to polar research, is delivered via competitive, peer-reviewed application processes. Awards are made to Research Organisations based on terms and conditions detailed in NERC’s Research Grants and Fellowships Handbook. NERC also supports strategic research and national capability programmes.

Natural Environment Research Council: Grants

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to review the funding rules for the Natural Environment Research Council so that international partners can be costed in with a value up to 30% of a grant proposal.

Andrew Griffith: The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a constituent council of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is responsible for managing funding policy across its councils. Where an “international co-applicant” agreement is in place, NERC funds specified direct costs for international collaborators, paying up to 100% of eligible direct costs or a maximum of 30% of the full economic cost value for eligible international costs. UKRI has no immediate plans to review this policy.

Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging mobile network roaming in rural areas.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Government agreed a deal with the mobile network operators (MNOs) in March 2020 to deliver the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This agreement will see the Government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. The SRN will improve rural 4G coverage, reducing the digital divide between rural and urban areas of the UK, enabling rural businesses and communities to thrive. Any decisions on rural roaming are commercial decisions for mobile operators.The Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service requires that any call from a mobile phone will automatically roam onto another mobile network free-of-charge to make an emergency call if they have no signal from their own provider. The SRN will deliver new masts in total not-spot areas which will enable calls to 999 to be made through the mobile network for the first time in these areas.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Inflation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle food inflation.

Mark Spencer: Tackling inflation is this Government’s number one priority, with a plan to more than halve inflation this year, and we are monitoring all key agricultural commodities so that we can work with the food industry to address the challenges they face. The Government monitors consumer food prices using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). October 2023 CPI food price inflation reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was 10.1%, down from 12.1% in September 2023 and the lowest figure since June 2022. Overall CPI inflation dropped to 4.6% in October from 6.7% in September 2023. This is now under half the overall rate recorded by ONS at the start of the year. Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Some of these factors are influenced by our trading arrangements with other countries. Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures. Some retailers have also introduced incentives for customers, such as new reward cards offering discounts on products or ‘cashback’ on future purchases, and a number of stores are also offering meal deals either in store or within their cafes to help vulnerable groups.

Seeds: Databases

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what objectives there are for the OrganicXseeds database; how long the database has been in operation; and how much his Department spent on (a) maintaining the database and (b) producing an annual report of non-organic seed authorisations in the last 12 months.

Mark Spencer: The UK is legally required to maintain a database listing the varieties of available organic seed or seed potatoes. The regulation detailing that requirement notes that the database should help operators to find organic seed and seed potatoes. The UK database has been in operation since 2004, with a separate database for Northern Ireland going live in 2021 following EU-exit. Since its inception in 2004, Defra has delegated the operation and maintenance of the database, and production of the annual non-organic seed authorisation reports, to the Soil Association. In 2022-23, Defra paid the Soil Association £23,086 + VAT for carrying out those responsibilities.

Agriculture: Seeds

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many emergency authorisations were granted to certified organic producers to use non-organic seed in each of the last five years; and if he will make an assessment of the reasons for the trend in the number of emergency authorisations granted in that period.

Mark Spencer: It is possible for non-organic seed (as part of a mix or entirely non-organic) to be used on certified organic farmland, but only under prescribed circumstances, and with prior authorisation in accordance with regulations. The annual non-organic seed authorisation reports produced by the Soil Association on behalf of Defra details the total number of authorisations in each of the past 5 years as follows: 2022 – 17,3142021 – 16,5982020 – 13,1062019 – 15,7832018 – 15,828 In cases where, due to limited availability, a producer cannot source the required seeds in sufficient quantities, the organic regulation allows producers to use non-organic seeds. This is because it is recognised that sometimes, insufficient stocks may be available. Authorisations to use non-organic seed are granted only under specific circumstances and must be obtained in advance of their use. It is also worth highlighting that these authorisations cover all crop species and varieties used by organic farmers within the UK, each with unique variables as to availability of supply. Defra’s engagement with seed suppliers has not highlighted any systemic or structural issues with the supply of organic seed beyond those associated with the well-documented supply chain issues caused by the Covid pandemic and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Civil Servants

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Cabinet Office statistics on Permanent and temporary civil servants by sex, age band and department: 2023, published on 31 October 2023, how many permanent civil servants excluding agencies worked for her Department on 31 March (a) 2011, (b) 2016 and (c) 2020.

Mark Spencer: Headcount of civil servants who worked for the Department on 31 March of 2011, 2016 and 2020 can be found in the ONS Public Sector Employment Publication,a) March 2011, table 8b) March 2016, table 8c) March 2020, table 8 On 2 October 2023, the Chancellor announced an immediate cap on civil servant headcount across Whitehall to stop any further expansion, increase efficiencies and boost productivity. The Civil Service grew in size to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the illegal war in Ukraine, but it is right that we reduce the size of the Civil Service over time as we drive up productivity and deliver efficiencies.

Meat: Standards

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on changing the legal definition of wishbone meat.

Mark Spencer: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Government’s arm’s-length bodies, including the Food Standards Agency, on a range of issues.

Meat: Ritual Slaughter

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring halal meat to be labelled with a declaration as to whether it comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter.

Mark Spencer: In 2021, Defra ran a call for evidence to gather data on the potential impacts of different types of labelling reform for animal welfare, including considerations around method of slaughter. We received over 1,600 responses and a summary of these responses is available on GOV.UK. Based on the information gathered, we will continue to work with stakeholders to explore how we can harness the market to improve food information for consumers.

Food Supply: Vacancies

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the Independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain, published 30 June 2023.

Mark Spencer: The Government is currently considering the 10 recommendations from the Independent Review into Labour Shortages and intends to publish a Government Response shortly.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Catering

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support the provision of a nutritionally balanced plant-based meals on menus for staff in his Department.

Mark Spencer: Defra provides a catering offering at four locations. There is a focus on healthy eating and the meal selection always includes plant-based options.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Sustainable Farming Incentive programme on (a) farm-level crop yields, (b) national agricultural productivity and (c) domestic food self-sufficiency levels.

Mark Spencer: Our overall assessment of the impacts of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) on yields, productivity and domestic food production is based on a review of quantitative and qualitative evidence. SFI is designed to support farmers in managing their land in an environmentally sustainable way. Many SFI actions are designed to be undertaken alongside their agricultural operations and do not require land be taken out of production. Some actions within SFI are likely to take small areas of often marginally productive land out of production, lowering overall output for the farm in the short term. In the longer term this is likely to be offset by long term improvements in soil health and pollinator abundance which will support increased yields. Some actions in SFI will also reduce the need for fertilisers or pesticides leading to lower inputs and higher productivity. SFI, along with other schemes in the wider farming and countryside programme (including for example the Farming Resilience Fund, the Farming Investment Fund and the Farming Innovation Programme) will collectively support increases in agricultural productivity over the agricultural transition. Overall, this should allow participating farmers to broadly maintain long-run food production and to meet the objective, set out on the Food Strategy, of maintaining national food production at current levels.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, regarding SFI23, how many applications to the Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 offer have been (a) made and (b) approved.

Mark Spencer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has a rolling application window and as of 16 November 2023, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) had received 2,737 SFI 23 applications. Of these, the RPA has issued offers of agreement to 1,589 farm businesses and 1,227 have been accepted. The SFI23 application window opened in mid-September and there is a rolling window to apply which allows farm businesses to apply when they are ready to do so.

Sustainable Farming Incentive: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are included in the Sustainable Farming Incentive in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Mark Spencer: The Sustainable Farming Incentive has a rolling application window and as of 14 November there are currently 12 farm businesses with a SFI agreement for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.The SFI23 application window opened in mid-September and there is a rolling window to apply which allows farm businesses to apply when they are ready to do so. We have a number of farm businesses that have started an application but not submitted one.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme: Mid Bedfordshire

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms are included in the Countryside Stewardship scheme in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Mark Spencer: As of 14 November, there are 90 farm businesses with a current Countryside Stewardship Agreement or a Countryside Stewardship Agreement starting on 1 January 2024 for the Mid Bedfordshire Constituency.

Ministry of Justice

Victims: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, will the proposed Victims and Prisoners Bill consider placing a statutory duty on criminal justice agencies to provide accessible information to disabled victims about their rights and entitlements, pursuant to Right 1 of the Victims’ Charter.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Bill to safeguard disabled victims of crime.

Laura Farris: This Government is committed to ensuring that all victims are made aware of their entitlements under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), and the Victims and Prisoners Bill (‘the Bill’) already takes appropriate steps to require that criminal justice agencies provide accessible information to victims about their rights and entitlements.The Bill places a statutory duty on criminal justice agencies to raise awareness of the Victims’ Code with victims, which includes those affected by disabilities. Statutory guidance will set out ways this can be done effectively, including how materials can be made more accessible for different individual needs.The Bill also places the overarching principles of the Victims’ Code into legislation, including the principle that victims should be provided with information to help them understand the criminal justice process.This principle underlines the existing requirements in the Victims’ Code under Right 1, which entitles victims to be helped to understand what is happening and to be understood. This obliges criminal justice agencies to consider relevant personal characteristics which may affect a victim’s ability to understand or be understood and requires them to communicate in an accessible way. This includes protected characteristics such as disability. To ensure the Code itself is accessible, it is available in a range of formats and languages on GOV.UK, including a HTML version that is compatible with screen reading technology, large print, easy read and British Sign Language.The Bill also introduces measures to improve support for victims of crime including a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities and health bodies to collaborate when commissioning support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and other serious violence. Within this, commissioners are required to have regard to the particular needs of those with protected characteristics, including victims who are disabled. In addition, the Bill requires that statutory guidance is published about the roles of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), which will provide the necessary flexibility for these roles to support the individual needs of victims who are disabled. Together these measures recognise the importance of tailored services to meet the diverse needs of victims.

Victim Support Schemes

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure the Victims Funding Strategy is effectively communicated to the relevant authorities.

Laura Farris: Since publication of the Victims Funding Strategy (VFS) in May 2022, officials within the Ministry of Justice have had regular engagement with Police and Crime Commissioners’ (PCC) offices to embed its principles of funding the sector more strategically, removing barriers to access, and implementing clear and consistent outcomes.This engagement includes recently established PCC forums, which bring groups of PCC officials together to discuss local commissioning and share best practice to improve commissioning standards.In addition, Ministry of Justice officials have also regularly communicated the VFS principles and its implementation with the Local Government Association and with NHS England, to ensure the VFS is considered by local authorities and clinical commissioners as part of their victim support strategy planning. Other government departments continue to be engaged extensively on VFS implementation in their role as national commissioners.In the VFS, we committed to reviewing and refreshing the Victim Services Commissioning Framework. This work is currently in development, and will be a positive step to ensuring that the principles of the VFS are reflected in commissioning decisions across all local commissioners. The refreshed framework will be published next year.

Probate Service: Standards

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken by the probate service to process applications; and what the average time is to process an application for the latest period in which data is available.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many full time equivalent staff worked in the probate service in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what service standards guidance the probate service has for answering telephone enquiries; and whether he is taking steps to improve the information provided to applicants who contact the probate service by telephone.

Mike Freer: The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Whilst HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand the training and upskilling of those new and existing staff has led to applications taking longer in the short term.HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during April to June 2023.Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.The number of FTEs working in the probate service in each of the last five years is as follows:March 2019 = 152March 2020 = 153March 2021 = 250March 2022 = 246March 2023 = 296We aim to answer telephone enquiries to the probate service within an average of 12 minutes. However, 2022 performance had fallen short of this goal but has since improved in 2023 by 60% to 12 minutes 15 seconds.To improve telephone response times and the overall experience for applicants, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can provide more accurate and helpful information.To further enhance the information provided during calls, we are expanding our probate contact centre scripts and FAQs to address common queries in a clear and compassionate way.

Trials: Remote Hearings

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of hearings at the (a) Crown and (b) Magistrates Court in the 2022-23 financial year that were mostly conducted using (i) audio or (ii) video technology; and what estimate he has made of the number of hearings in each category that had to be adjourned due to technical difficulties with that technology.

Mike Freer: The information requested is not held centrally. In order to provide this information HMCTS would have to commission each Court site to manually record remote hearing numbers and reasons for their adjournments. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Legal Aid Scheme: Greater Manchester and Middlesbrough

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 19 June 2023 to Question 189505 on Legal Aid Scheme: Manchester and Middlesbrough, for what reason the evaluation report into the early legal advice pilot scheme was not published before the end of summer 2023; and when he plans to publish that report.

Mike Freer: We acknowledge the delayed release of the final report for the Early Legal Advice Pilot (ELAP) beyond the initially projected timeline.The Ministry of Justice commissioned an independent research company to conduct the research and evaluation for ELAP. This process involved a feasibility study, which recommended a 'test pilot' to assess assumptions before proceeding to a full-scale pilot. During the test pilot, there was limited uptake of advice, and various methods were tried to enhance awareness and participation. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful, leading to the decision not to advance to the full trial after the completion of the test pilot phase. Subsequent evaluation work was carried out, and the draft reports have recently undergone independent external peer review.We plan to publish all ELAP outputs in accordance with Government Social Research protocols in early 2024. These outputs will encompass the feasibility study report, a study exploring the potential for value for money modelling, and a final evaluation report.

Young Offender Institutions: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of when the proportion of ethnic minority people in senior leadership roles in the youth secure estate will be the same as the proportion in the wider working population.

Edward Argar: As of 30 June 2023, 19.2 per cent of all Youth Custody Service staff who declared their ethnicity were from an ethnic minority background, up from 11.9% in 2010. It is not possible to disaggregate this figure to show how many were in senior leadership roles.More generally, the proportion of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) senior leaders (from HMPPS Band 10 upwards) from an ethnic minority background has increased from 4.8 per cent in December 2019 to 9.5 per cent in 2022. HMPPS is continuing to work to the goal of ensuring that the representation of ethnic minority senior staff matches the working age population by 2030.

Young Offender Institutions: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many ethnic minority personnel were employed in senior leadership roles in the youth secure estate in each reporting year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The headcount of senior leadership staff who declared that they were from an ethnic minority background and who work in prisons currently part of the Youth Custody Service (YCS) is given in the table below. The overall number of personnel employed in senior leadership roles across YCS is low and therefore the majority of the data has had to be redacted to avoid disclosure of personal information.Table 1 - Headcount of senior leadership staff in Youth Custody Service prisons, declared from an ethnic minority background, as at 31 March since 2010, and latest position as at 30 September 2023.As atEthnic MinorityWhiteUnknownTotal31/03/2010~~~1231/03/2011~~~1131/03/2012~~~931/03/20134601031/03/2014450931/03/2015~~~631/03/2016~~~631/03/2017~~~531/03/2018~~~731/03/2019~~~931/03/2020~~~731/03/2021~~~631/03/2022~~~631/03/2023~~~730/09/2023~~~7Notes1. Senior leadership is defined as anyone in HMPPS Bands 9 and above.2. The Youth Custody Service (YCS), created in April 2017 to oversee day-to-day management of the under 18s young people’s estate. Youth Custody Estate includes the following prisons: Cookham Wood, Feltham, Werrington, Wetherby and Medway Secure Training Centre (which closed in March 2020)3. Ethnicity is a self-declared field and is optional to complete.4. Unknown includes those who hadn’t declared their ethnicity as well as those who responded ‘Prefer Not To Say’.~ Denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values of 2 or fewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018.

Young Offender Institutions: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many ethnic minority staff were employed in the youth secure estate in each reporting year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The headcount of staff who declared that they were from an ethnic minority background and who work in prisons currently part of the Youth Custody Service is given in the table below.Table 1 - Headcount of staff in Youth Custody Service prisons, declared from an ethnic minority background, as at 31 March since 2010, and latest position as at 30 September 2023.As atEthnic MinorityWhiteUnknownTotal31/03/20101661,2241051,49531/03/20111631,2571231,54331/03/20121621,2251101,49731/03/20131591,1591421,46031/03/20141451,0431221,31031/03/20151319851491,26531/03/20161359132301,27831/03/20171459423091,39631/03/20181348445381,51631/03/20191911,0805661,83731/03/20202071,1222531,58231/03/20212111,1152631,58931/03/20222281,1282771,63331/03/20232511,0953041,65030/09/20232761,1582641,698Notes1. The Youth Custody Service (YCS), created in April 2017 to oversee day-to-day management of the under 18s young people’s estate. Youth Custody Estate includes the following prisons: Cookham Wood, Feltham, Werrington, Wetherby and Medway Secure Training Centre (which closed in March 2020)2. Ethnicity is a self-declared field and is optional to complete.3. Unknown includes those who hadn’t declared their ethnicity as well as those who responded ‘Prefer Not To Say’.

Prisoners: Lost Property

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much compensation was paid to prisoners in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023 for items which had been ordered by prisoners but were lost in transit.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many items ordered for delivery by prisoners went missing in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Edward Argar: As the requested information is not collected centrally, it could only be obtained by reviewing the complaints and purchasing logs at every prison, for each day of the requested period. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will hold discussion with the Sentencing Council on the potential merits of making it more likely that perpetrators of retail crime receive custodial sentences.

Gareth Bacon: The independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales has a statutory duty to develop sentencing guidelines and monitor their use. These guidelines provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how blameworthy the offender is.As an independent body, the Sentencing Council decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and reviewing guidelines. Therefore, the Government cannot require the Council to review particular guidelines. It is open of course to individuals to approach the Council to ask that they do so, and I would encourage you to share your concerns with them. The Council’s published criteria for developing or revising guidelines is available on its website at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/about-the-sentencing-council/our-criteria-for-developing-or-revising-guidelines/.The Ministry of Justice regularly monitors the effectiveness of the sentencing framework.

Shoplifting: Prison Sentences

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people served prison sentences for shoplifting in each year since 2010.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people served prison sentences following convictions for burglary in each year since 2010.

Gareth Bacon: Data on the number of prisoners serving sentences for burglary offences are routinely published within the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly publication. Please see annual Tables A1.5i (Row 64; for data for 2015 onwards) and A1.5ii (Row 18; for data covering 2010 - 2014).Data on the number of prisoners serving sentences for shoplifting offences (for 2015 onwards) are routinely published in Row 76 of Table A1.5i. The offence categories used in the underlying prison population datasets before 2015 did not include shoplifting as a specific offence (i.e. it was included in a broader ‘Other Theft’ category). As such data for the number of prisoners serving sentences for shoplifting from 2010 – 2014 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost to the department as we would need to conduct a manual search of prisoner records for those with an ‘Other Theft’ offence to establish the number with mentions of ‘Shoplifting’ in the court summary.Tables A1.5i and A1.5ii can be found at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1173712/Population_30June2023_Annual.ods.

Department for Transport

A1: Repairs and Maintenance

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount of funding for and (b) timeframe for funds to be allocated to the upgrade of the A1 following the cancellation of Phase 2 of the HS2 project.

Anthony Browne: We will deliver dualling on the A1 between Morpeth to Ellingham. The Department is working through delivery schedules and phasing of spend with delivery partners and within the Government’s overall fiscal plan. All Network North schemes will be subject to approval of business cases. We will share further details in due course

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help prevent the placement of electric car charging cables across public footpaths.

Anthony Browne: The Government recognises that some households without off-street parking could access charging by running cables from their property to a vehicle. However, this can negatively impact other pavement users if done inappropriately and in some cases, breach the Highways Act 1980. As part of the Plan for Drivers, the Government committed to provide guidance on the use of cross pavement solutions, which safely guide charging cables between a property and on-street vehicle. This will include best practice to local authorities on relevant legislation, permissions and how to consider applications. In addition, the plan committed to expand the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant to trial support for safe cross pavement solutions.

Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in battery weights on the uptake of four and six axle electric heavy goods vehicles.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the impact of battery weights on 4 and 6 axle electric HGVs on the payload they are able to carry to remain within maximum axle weights and gross vehicle weights.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to incentivise the uptake of four and six-axle electric HGVs.

Anthony Browne: The Department has already taken steps to support uptake of electric HGVs by increasing their maximum gross weight limit to reduce any payload loss compared to a diesel equivalent. The Road Vehicles (Authorised Weight) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 came into force in July 2023, and there is an associated published impact assessment. The Department is also in the procurement process for a research project on weights and dimensions of zero emission HGVs. The project will provide an evidence base to inform policy discussions regarding weights and dimensions within the UK. The deadline for bids was on Sunday 19 November. Since the plug-in van grant was launched in 2012, it has supported over 40,000 electric vans and HGVs across the UK. There are now almost 60 models of electric vans and trucks eligible for grants. These include a wide variety of specifications, such as differing wheelhouses and roof heights, and benefit from lower running costs than internal combustion engine vans. Finally, to further increase the evidence base on performance of the largest zero emission HGVs, the Department’s £200m zero emission HGV and infrastructure programme will demonstrate zero emission HGVs and their associated charging and fuelling infrastructure at scale on UK roads. The four winning projects will roll out up to 370 zero emission HGVs, around 50 battery electric charging sites and up to 7 hydrogen refuelling stations.

Large Goods Vehicles: Electric Vehicles

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) two and three-axle and (b) four and six-axle fully electric heavy goods vehicles were registered as of 20 November 2023.

Anthony Browne: At end of the June 2023, there were a total of 586 battery electric HGVs over 4,250kg. Of these, 351 have a 2 axle rigid body, 186 have a 3 axle rigid body and the remaining 49 fall into other categories, which includes non-standard and articulated wheel arrangements.

East Coast Main Line: Finance

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any funds from the cancellation of Phase 2 of the HS2 project will be reallocated to help increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line.

Anthony Browne: The up-to-£3.5bn upgrades for the ECML outlined in the Integrated Rail Plan remain unaffected by the Network North announcement. These upgrades will seek to upgrade and improve line speeds and capacity across the route. The Department has provided Network Rail with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible. Several component schemes are at a more mature stage of delivery, including enhancements at Darlington Station – where construction work has now commenced – and upgrades at York Station.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Prices

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 181721, when the consultation on options to target energy support to those most in need will be published; and for what reason the consultation was not launched in summer 2023.

Amanda Solloway: The outlook for energy prices has improved significantly since the Autumn Statement, with the Ofgem price cap falling 55% since its peak earlier this year. Meanwhile, households have also seen energy prices fall. The Government is providing Cost of Living Payments for those who face wider affordability challenges. This is in addition to ongoing winter support payments such as the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payments. The Government will continue to monitor the situation and keep options under review.

Renewable Energy: North Sea

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing energy islands in the North Sea.

Graham Stuart: The Government has not made any such assessment as it does not plan or develop energy infrastructure but sets the regulatory framework for the independent energy industry. The development of energy islands is subject to consent through the planning system and consistency with environmental protections and value for money requirements set by the regulator Ofgem. The Holistic Network Design and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan will set the high-level design for offshore transmission and identifies those responsible for its construction. It is for those companies to assess options for the detailed design.

Wind Power: Migrant Workers

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of reinstating the Offshore Wind Workers Concession.

Graham Stuart: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State discusses a range of issues with my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, including offshore wind where relevant. The Offshore Wind Industry Council estimate that the total UK offshore wind workforce at the end of 2022 was 32,257, representing an increase of four per cent from the previous year.[1] [1] Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report June 2023

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling: Safety

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the gambling industry on the potential impact of safer gambling week on (a) the volume of (i) marketing and (ii) direct marketing offers, (b) game speed and (c) gambling harm.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the gambling industry on the effectiveness of safer gambling week for reducing gambling harm.

Stuart Andrew: His Majesty’s Government recognises that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.The Secretary of State and I recently met with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and other industry representatives to discuss industry-led safer gambling measures and implementation of the gambling white paper. We welcome industry-led initiatives such as Safer Gambling Week. Figures from the BGC indicate that in 2022 Safer Gambling Week messaging made nearly 30 million impressions on social media, and that around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during that month, with 61 percent of those players setting a limit for the first time. Such limits can be an important measure in preventing harm. We understand safer gambling week has no impact on the volume of marketing (although its content is likely to be different) or game speed.However, as outlined in the gambling white paper, we are working with the industry, Gambling Commission and others to implement a wide range of proportionate measures to protect customers from practices and products which can drive harm.

Gambling: Taxation

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing the funds raised through a statutory gambling levy for the (a) research, (b) prevention and (c) treatment of gambling-related harms.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to develop a mechanism for the statutory gambling levy to enable new forms of gambling to be (a) assessed and (b) levied at an appropriate level.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of reducing the review period for statutory levy rates on gambling operators and the distribution of funds to every three years, to allow for changes in the gambling landscape to be appropriately accounted for.

Stuart Andrew: We launched a consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the levy in October to ensure the government has the best available evidence to make implementation of the levy effective, transparent and proportionate. The consultation closes on 14 December. Legislation requires the levy to be paid by all Gambling Commission licensees, including on forms of gambling licensed in the future, to provide sustainable, ring-fenced funding for research, prevention and treatment (RPT) of gambling-related harms.It is important that the new levy system provides sufficient long-term stability as the new arrangements come into force, while providing scope for the government to intervene should issues arise. We think a five year review period strikes an appropriate balance. However, we are keen to receive the best available evidence on this point through the consultation.

Arts and Sports: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase pupil access to (a) sports and (b) arts opportunities out of school.

Stuart Andrew: Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health and this government is committed to ensuring every child, no matter their background or ability, should be able to play sport and be active.That is why in ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’ we introduce an ambition that all children should meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on physical activity, with a target of getting 1 million more active children by 2030.Schools play a key role in allowing all children to have high quality opportunities to take part in PE and sport, setting them up for a lifetime of physical activity. In July we published an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan. This builds on the announcement we made in March that set out new ambitions for equal access to PE and sport, with guidance on how to deliver 2 hours of quality PE a week, alongside over £600 million funding for the Primary PE and Sport Premium and School Games Organiser network.Outside of the school day, the £57 million Opening School Facilities programme will support the most inactive young people to access facilities that will enable them to play sport and take physical exercise. By opening school sport facilities, including swimming pools, disparities in access to opportunities seen between socio-economic groups will begin to be tackled through the programme.Over the school holidays, the Government offers £200 million of support per year to the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides disadvantaged children in England with enriching activities (including physical and creative activities) and healthy meals. Last summer, the programme reached over 685,000 children and young people in England, including over 475,000 children in receipt of free school meals.We are also investing over £300 million in grassroots football and multi-sport facilities across the UK by 2025 which will further support youth participation in sport.The Government is additionally providing significant arts and cultural opportunities for young people both in and out of school.This includes our creative careers promise, which is backed by £115m a year to increase young people’s access to cultural and music education. The upcoming Cultural Education Plan will support all children and young people to access a broad range of high-quality cultural and creative activities and experiences inside and outside of school. Our Enrichment Partnerships Pilot aims to improve the availability and quality of enrichment activities in up to 200 secondary schools within Education Investment Areas. In addition, 79% of the organisations in Arts Council England’s 2023-26 Investment Programme portfolio are delivering activity specifically for children and young people of all ages, wherever they live.Separately, the Government funds a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes that are designed to improve participation in the arts for children. The National Saturday Club, for example, gives 13 to 16-year-olds across the country the opportunity to study the subjects they love for free, including arts and creative subjects, on a Saturday at their local university, college or cultural institution. Government and Arts Council England also co-fund 15 National Youth Music Organisations offering large-scale, inclusive performances, high-quality music programmes, residencies, summer schools and workshops, to help develop young people’s skills, experience, and knowledge of music, supporting them to excel as young creatives outside of school.The National Plan for Music Education includes £25m funding for musical instruments and equipment for schools, and the Music Progression Fund supports disadvantaged pupils with music tuition. Furthermore, we have created four new Music Hub Centres of Excellence to improve inclusion and create pathways to industry for talented young people from all backgrounds.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Catering and Shops

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether (a) cash and (b) cards can be used at each (i) food, (ii) drink and (iii) souvenir outlet on the Parliamentary estate.

Sir Charles Walker: Cash and cards can be used on all food, drink and souvenir transactions in catering and souvenir outlets with the exception of two venues in locations away from the main estate and all vending machines, where only card is permitted. The reason for a cashless policy at the two outbuildings is due to security constraints on the transportation of monies between the outbuildings and the main Palace. The cost for monies to be collected outweighed the cash taken. Vending machines are procured as card only for security reasons.

Department for Business and Trade

Hospitality Industry and Retail Trade: Skilled Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will have discussions with representatives of the hospitality and retail sectors on the opportunities provided for their workers to develop leadership skills.

Kevin Hollinrake: We regularly meet with businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors to identify and address skills needs. Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are working with businesses to consider how best to strengthen recruitment, training, and retention. The Retail Sector Council recently published a discussion document, Retail – The Great Enabler, inviting comments on the key challenges for the sector including skills and employment.

Bicycles and Electric Scooters

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to regulate battery charged e-bikes and e-scooters.

Kevin Hollinrake: Existing product safety laws already apply to e-bikes, their batteries and chargers and we keep the legislation under review, including through the recent consultation on the Product Safety Review.Under current law manufacturers and importers must ensure their products are safe before they are sold. The Office for Product Safety and Standards in this Department, as well as Local Authority Trading Standards, have the powers to enforce these requirements and are prioritising action to identify and test e-bikes, modification kits and chargers so that products found to be unsafe can be removed from the market.